Believe it or not, weâre already through two weeks â" and a whole host of tournaments â" of the boys basketball season, and weâve already seen some impressive performances with more surely to come.

Hereâs a quick look at whatâs happened, whatâs happening, and what will later happen in the world of Inland area hoops.

THE PAST

Both the cities of Corona and Riverside have seen their share of winners in early season tournaments.

For the Circle City, Centennial is off to a 4-1 start and took a respectable second at the Tip-off at the Empire Tournament, with its sole loss to Etiwanda, currently ranked the No.23 team in the nation by MaxPreps.

Corona (4-0 through Monday), meanwhile, has had arguably the most impressive start of any team in the Inland Empire, winning the Big Daddy Classic with victories over Perris, Murrieta Valley and Moreno Valley Rancho Verde. Neighboring Santiago is also off to a 4-0 start after winning the Spartan Extravaganza.

The city of Riverside produced a trio of tournament champions as North won the (Phelan) Diamondback Shoot-out, King won the Beaumont Tip-off Classic and La Sierra took home the Jurupa Valley/Rubidoux Tip-off title.

Eastvale Roosevelt (5-0) claimed the San Dimas Tournament in its first games under new coach Von Webb, and Temecula Valley (3-1) made a huge statement by taking second place in the ultra-tough (Mission Viejo) Diablo Inferno.

Kingâs Chris Lott and Coronaâs Ethan Alvano were among some of the well-known players that took home tournament MVP awards, but other lesser-known players are off to hot starts as well.

Two local tournaments take center stage this week as both the Murrieta Valley Nighthawk Classic and the Riverside Kiwanis Tournament get under way.

Host Murrieta Valley (3-1) enters its own tournament as the favorite, but La Sierra will be gunning for its second tournament championship of the year and Norco is looking to prove its 4-1 start isnât a fluke. Defending league champions Beaumont and Temecula Great Oak are participating as well, as is small-school power Temecula Linfield Christian.

Riverside Poly got some buzz as a potential sleeper in the offseason and will try to further that image in the Kiwanis tournament.

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